MAG Training Series — Logistics & Supply
Your group can’t run on good intentions.
Supply is the proof of concept.
Supply is the proof of concept.
Most MAGs plan for what they’ll do. Few plan for how they’ll pay for it, who owns what when someone leaves, and what to do when the food donated six months ago is quietly spoiling. This training fixes that.
5modules
3ownership tiers
4cost models
§ 10workbook tie-in
Why logistics training fails
Groups plan operations.
They forget to plan supply.
They forget to plan supply.
Every capability your group has — medical, comms, security, food — depends on someone having bought the right thing, stored it correctly, and knowing exactly where it is. Logistics is not a support function. It is the backbone.
“Logistics is the quiet capability that makes everything else possible. Medical without supplies is improvisation. Comms without batteries is silence. Security without food is mutiny.”
— MAG Workbook, Section 10
01
Groups argue about money
Nothing fractures a MAG faster than ambiguity over who owns the gear and who paid for it. This training establishes the framework before the conflict happens — on a blue-sky day when it’s still easy.
02
Food plans get ignored
“Everyone have 90 days of food” is not a group plan. It’s 12 separate plans with 12 different standards, unknown quality, and zero coordination on shared cooking, dietary needs, or dependents who can’t fend for themselves.
03
Gear drifts into gray zones
Personal gear that lives at the group cache. Equipment bought by one member. Donated items with no record. Gray zones create exactly the kind of friction you can’t afford during an activation.
04
Nobody tracks consumption
A cache never checked against a real consumption rate is not a supply plan — it’s a guess. Groups discover the gaps at the worst possible moment. The audit drill in Module 5 exists to prevent that.
The training
Five modules. One coherent system.
Each module builds on the last. Work through them across a training year or run them as a dedicated session. Either way, your group ends with working systems — not just knowledge.
Module 2 — deep dive
The conversation most groups
have too late.
have too late.
Ownership and cost disputes are among the top causes of MAG breakdown. They’re almost entirely preventable — if the conversation happens on a blue-sky day, not during an activation or after someone leaves angry.
⚠ The dissolution clause
Section 13 of the MAG Workbook states shared physical resources must be “distributed according to a pre-agreed formula or returned to original contributors” when a group dissolves. That formula has to exist before anyone needs it. This module builds it.
The three ownership tiers
Tier 1 — Personal gear
Owned by the individual. Brought to activations at the member’s discretion. Never becomes a group asset without an explicit written agreement. Returns to the member if they leave or the group dissolves.
→Personal firearms and ammunition
→Bug-out and get-home bags
→Personal medications and medical supplies
→Personal vehicle and its fuel
→PPE and personal clothing
→Household food stores
Tier 2 — Shared group assets
Owned by the group. Acquired with group funds or formally donated and documented. Tracked by the logistics lead. Governed by the group’s cost model. Disposition on dissolution is pre-agreed before anyone needs to invoke it.
→Generator and solar equipment
→Shared radios and antenna infrastructure
→Group trauma and medical cache
→Shared tools and repair equipment
→Water storage and filtration systems
→Group food stores (see Module 4)
Tier 3 — Consumable supplies
A separate category because the model is fundamentally different. Consumables — food, fuel, batteries, medical expendables — are used up. They need a replenishment system, not just a tracking system. They also require a clear group decision: does each household stock their own, does the group pool and divide, or is there a hybrid? Module 4 addresses this directly for food. Module 2 covers the framework for all consumable categories.
Four cost-sharing models
No universally correct model exists. The right one depends on your group’s composition, income mix, and trust level. The training covers each honestly — including where each breaks down.
Equal Split
Group costs divided equally among households regardless of income or usage. Simplest to administer. Can create resentment in income-diverse groups.
Best for: High-trust, similar-income groups
Proportional Contribution
Members contribute based on household size, income, or skill offset. More equitable, more complex. Requires the group to discuss means openly — which is itself a trust-building exercise.
Best for: Groups with meaningful income variation
Skills-for-Supplies Offset
Members who contribute high-value labor — medical professionals, mechanics, skilled trades — offset their financial contribution through service. Requires documentation to prevent resentment over time.
Best for: Groups with strong skills asymmetry
Hybrid / Tiered
Core shared infrastructure funded equally. Consumables handled household-by-household, with a group pool for shared deployments. Most established groups end up here — it maps cleanly to the ownership tier structure.
Best for: Most established MAGs
Hard truth
The member who contributes the most expensive gear will eventually resent it if ownership is never formalized. The member who contributes the least will be resented for the same reason. The framework prevents both — but only if it’s agreed to before either dynamic takes hold.
On member departure
When a member leaves — voluntarily or otherwise — personal gear leaves with them. Shared group assets stay. Consumables they contributed are absorbed into group stock. This isn’t complicated, but it must be pre-agreed. The module includes a sample resource disposition clause you can adapt for your group.
On donated items
“I gave the group my old generator” is fine. But is it a donation or a loan? Does it leave when you do? An undocumented donation is a gray zone waiting to cause a fracture. The module teaches a 60-second documentation process that closes this permanently.
Module 4 — deep dive
Food planning is not just
“store more food.”
“store more food.”
Group food planning runs at three distinct layers. Most groups only address the first. The training addresses all three — and the hard questions each one forces your group to answer.
Layer 1
Household Stores
Each household maintains its own supply to a group-agreed standard — duration, caloric density, rotation protocol. The group sets the floor; households decide how to meet it. This layer stays personal and is never pooled.
Layer 2
Shared Activation Food
Group-owned food deployed when operating together. Separate from household stores. Paid for by the group. Covers shared meals and dependent members — infants, elderly, anyone who can’t rely solely on household stock.
Layer 3
Extended Operations
Planning beyond initial stores: foraging, hunting, gardening, food production, and preservation skills. Connects to the food systems skills in MAG Workbook Section 4 — where a good growing season becomes a six-month supply.
Questions this module forces your group to answer
Caloric standard
What is the minimum caloric target per person per day at each scenario tier? Does it change for children, elderly, or members doing sustained physical work?
Dietary restrictions
Which members have allergies, intolerances, or medical dietary requirements? Does the group food plan account for them, or does it assume everyone eats the same thing?
Dependent members
Infants, young children, elderly, and medically dependent members need different planning. Who is responsible for sourcing those needs — and is that in the group plan?
Cooking infrastructure
Who cooks for the group, on what equipment, without grid power? Does your group have bulk cooking capacity or only household-scale equipment maxed at a family of four?
Morale and sustainability
Rice and beans for 30 days is survivable. It’s also a morale drain. The training covers the comfort tier — small additions that maintain psychological function under prolonged stress.
Rotation and waste
Stored food that’s never rotated is a liability, not a plan. The training builds a rotation discipline that keeps stores fresh and gives members practice cooking what they’ve stored.
“Group food planning is the most-requested topic from MAGs that have been operating for more than a year. The first year everyone assumes someone else is handling it. The second year they find out nobody was.”
— From MAG after-action conversations
Where this fits
Built on the MAG Workbook foundation.
This training is the practical implementation layer for what the MAG Workbook defines. Every module connects to a section your group has already worked through.
§ 04
Skills inventory → logistics lead
The skills matrix identifies who has logistics capability. This training is where that rating goes from 0–1 to 2–3.
§ 05
Role assignments → logistics lead
The workbook delegates the how to outside training. This is that training.
§ 10
Logistics categories → full plans
Section 10 records whether each category has a plan. This training produces those plans.
§ 12
Training calendar → Q3 drill
Module 5 is designed to fill the Q3 logistics drill slot in the annual training calendar directly.
§ 13
Dissolution → pre-agreed formula
Section 13 requires a pre-agreed formula for shared resources on dissolution. Module 2 builds it.
§ 07
Compartmentalization → cache records
Cache locations and contents are tiered information. The training shows how to structure records that stay properly compartmentalized.
§
You need the MAG Workbook first
This training assumes your group has completed the MAG Workbook — threat assessment, mission statement, role assignments, and at minimum a skills inventory. If you haven’t done that yet, the workbook is where to start. This training will be ready when you are.
Who this is for
Honest about the audience.
Read this before committing your group’s time.
This training is right for
→MAGs that have gear but no formal record of who owns what
→Groups where the logistics lead is assigned but has no real system yet
→Groups preparing for the Q3 logistics drill
→Groups that have had a dispute about gear or money
→Any group that has never audited their cache against real consumption rates
Not the right starting point if
✕Your group hasn’t worked through the MAG Workbook — start there
✕You don’t yet have a committed group of members
✕You’re looking for a gear list or sourcing guide — this is process, not shopping
✕Your group won’t engage honestly with money and ownership conversations
MAG Training Series
Ready when your group is.
Start with the MAG Workbook to build your group’s foundation, then move into logistics training when your roles are assigned and your threat picture is clear.
More training resources → fortunefavorstheprepared.com
© Fortune Favors the Prepared. All rights reserved. | fortunefavorstheprepared.com